Titian — страница 2

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also has iconographic references: this was their traditional position, and portrayed their roles as intercessors between the figures below, and God in Heaven above. In this context, the altarpiece refers to a painting set behind an above the altar in a Christian church. Painted altarpieces might be accompanied by sculpture, as in the case of Titian?s Assunta, which features three free-standing marble figures on the frame. The term sacra conversazione refers to the type of composition made popular by Bellini, where a group of saints are gathered in a unified space. Any ?conversation? between saints is solely spiritual and internal; paradoxically, as soon as obvious communication takes place (in the case of Titian?s Pesaro), the composition no longer conforms to what constitutes a

sacra conversazione . Established traditions in altarpiece design Titian was painting amongst the turbulent climate of the age of Reformation and the Counter-Reformation: this may have influenced his work, endowing it with a greater sense of drama and more overt display of emotion which is evident especially in Assunta. This was a significant development from the entrenched Venetian style established by Bellini: his altarpieces were characteristically tranquil and meditive (Humfrey refers to Bellini?s Diletti, S. Giobbe and St Catherine of Sienna altarpieces in defining the sacra conversazione). His style embodies the Venetian ethos of ?La Serenissima?. Stylistic developments in Assunta and Pesaro altarpieces While depictions of the Assumption scene had been painted by such names

as Vivarini and Palma Vecchio, Titian?s subjects are much more powerfully built and more dynamic in their gestures than the relatively angular and timid figures in the earlier altarpieces. There is a mood of vivacity and upward movement, driven by the shifts in dark and light through the three zones (disciples, Madonna, God and angels). The viewer?s eye is arrested by the raised arms of the disciples, the foreshortening of the virgin?s body refuses to let the eye rest, until it reaches the sweeping group of angels. Rosand affirms the stylistic importance of this work, in suggesting that its unveiling heralded the arrival of the classical High Renaissance in Venice. Titian?s dramatic gestures and breadth of form draws comparisons to the art of Raphael, and in particular, his

Assumption. Some scholars suggest Titian may have seen preparatory sketches for this work around the time he received the commission for Assunta , in which case the originality of his work is dubious. However, the fact that he hadn?t yet undertaken the ?artist?s pilgrimage to Rome? and viewed the works of Raphael and his contemporaries, offers credibility in terms of his artistic innovation. A justification of why Assunta was not accepted by the patron, Guardian of the Fransiscan order, Fra Germano, was because the human forms are too sensual. A highly rhetorical passage from a 1910 book by Charles Ricketts, asserts that ?the face of Mary satisfies us as expressing ecstasy in a human type? . While being ultimately subjective, it sheds light on how people would personally react to

it. The exuberant vitality would have been frightening and even offensive, to generations used to Bellini?s style. The Assunta is notable in combining two significant biblical events: the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and the Coronation. The Coronation was a theme most usually represented in a horizontal format, yet perhaps this extensive thematic content would have offered more scope for drama and innovation when it was to be set in a tall, arched format. Infact, when Titian received the commission to construct this work, it was the largest altarpiece that had ever been seen in Venice. In the same way, Pesaro demonstrates an unorthodox blending of styles: the altarpiece painting and the votive portrait style. He transforms the traditional composition of the sacra conversazione

from one of centrality, to asymmetry. Rona Goffen supports this notion, claiming there was ?no real precedent in earlier altar paintings for this asymmetrical scheme? . The shift in the Madonna and Child?s positioning has iconographic ramifications, as a central position reflects their supreme role in the relationship with the saints and patrons. They still dominate the Pesaro, their elevation conveys importance, and their split attention (Madonna looking to the left, and the Child to the right) is the key to uniting the two groups. Titian draws on characteristics of the popular votive picture (paintings depicting a patron venerating a saint in a more intimate association) ? for example, Titian?s Bishop Jacopo Pesaro Presented to St. Peter by Pope Alexander VI ? which include